Blog · Paint
Scratches: Touch Up, Polish Out, or Repaint?
How deep a scratch goes decides how it gets fixed. The fingernail test, what polishing can and cannot do, and when a panel needs a proper refinish.
A scratch is the most common paint damage there is, and the range of fixes runs from a two-minute polish to a full panel refinish. Which one you need depends entirely on how deep it goes. Here is how to tell, and what each fix actually involves.
The layers
Vehicle paint is a stack: primer on the metal, color over the primer, clear over the color. A scratch that stays in the clear is cosmetic. A scratch through the color is visible and getting worse. A scratch to bare metal is a rust problem in the making, and in the West Texas sun and dust it does not take long.
The fingernail test
Run a fingernail across the scratch, at a right angle to it.
- The nail does not catch. The scratch is in the clear coat only. It may polish out.
- The nail catches slightly. It is through the clear and into the color. Polishing will not fix it; it needs at least a touch-up and probably a refinish.
- The nail drops in, and you can see white, grey or silver at the bottom. It is through to primer or metal. It needs to be sealed soon and refinished properly.
Polishing out a clear-coat scratch
A light scratch in the clear can often be removed by polishing, which takes a very thin layer of clear off around the scratch until the surface is level again. It works because clear coat has some thickness to spare. It stops working when the scratch is deeper than the clear, and it can be overdone; polish the same spot too many times and there is no clear left.
Fine scratches from a car wash brush, a key that did not press hard, or a branch are candidates. A scratch you can feel is not.
Touch-up paint
Touch-up paint from a dealer, matched to your paint code, is fine for a chip or a very short scratch where the goal is to seal the metal so it does not rust. It is not a cosmetic repair. Touch-up sits proud of the surface, the color is rarely a perfect match, and it is visible from a few feet. For a rock chip on a hood, that is an acceptable trade. For a scratch down a door, it is not.
Refinishing the panel
A scratch through the color, or anything that runs more than a few inches, gets fixed by refinishing. The area is sanded, any gouge in the metal is filled, the panel is primed, and the color goes on, matched off a spray-out card and blended into the neighboring panels so there is no edge. Then clear, cure, and buff.
That is more work than the scratch seems to deserve, and it is why a key scratch down the side of a vehicle can be a significant repair. The scratch is not the problem. The paint is.
Long scratches across several panels
A scratch that runs from the fender across the door and into the quarter panel touches three panels, and each one has to be refinished, with blends at each end. It is one of the more expensive kinds of cosmetic damage precisely because it is so long. If someone did it deliberately, it may be a comprehensive claim under vandalism; ask your carrier, and read file a claim or pay out of pocket first.
Scratches on plastic
A scuffed bumper cover follows different rules, because the cover is flexible plastic and the paint on it is formulated to flex too. Scuffs from a parking block or a low post are usually a refinish of the affected area, and cracks are a replacement. Bumper: repair or replace goes into it.
What not to do
- Do not sand a scratch yourself with anything coarse. You will turn a polish job into a refinish.
- Do not leave a scratch to metal open through the summer. Rust starts under the edges and spreads under paint you cannot see.
- Do not use touch-up on a long scratch expecting it to disappear. It will not.
Getting a straight answer
Text a photo of the scratch in daylight, straight on, close enough to see whether it has broken through, to (432) 220-3243. We will tell you whether it is a polish, a touch-up or a refinish, and roughly what that means. Or drive in to 7033 W 24th St; the estimate is free and takes fifteen minutes.
FAQ
Can you polish a scratch while I wait?
Sometimes, if it is clearly in the clear coat only and the schedule allows. Ask when you arrive.
Will a repainted panel match the rest of the vehicle?
That is what the spray-out card and the blend are for. Here is how matching works.
Is a scratch covered by insurance?
Accidental scratches from your own driving are collision. Deliberate ones are comprehensive under vandalism. Both usually carry a deductible, and a single scratch is often under it.
How soon does a scratch to metal start to rust?
In this climate, weeks to a few months. Sooner is better.